Does self‐service technology impact destination image and customer delight?

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to study customer delight in tourism as influenced by destination image and perceived value, in the context of Tirupati Thirumala Balaji Devasthanam, the most visited temple in the world. Further, the role of self-service technology in enhancing destination image is also discussed. Design/methodology/approach -The paper employs a causal research design and convenient sampling techniques. The target population of this study is the visitors who visited Thirumala temple during the past year. A self-administered questionnaire including both structured and open-ended questions and interviews schedules were employed. Factor and regression analysis have been used to explore the tourist's attitude towards self-service technology interfaces, in the context of Thirumala Thirupathi Devasthanam (TTD). Findings -The self-service technology channels such as the web site and the television channel had an impact on the customer delight element and these online channels need to be explored and utilized to create a superior experience. Practical implications -The information obtained will help policy makers to design a more comprehensive marketing mix, to enhance tourist experience. Moreover, the role of technology in the field of tourism will provide valuable insights as to how best to reach the target audience. Originality/value -Very few studies have explored destination image, customer delight, value dimensionality as well as SST interventions-destination image in a tourism context.

If you install it, will they use it? Understanding why hospitality customers take “technological pauses” from self-service technology

“…A vast amount of literature exists on consumer behavior toward SSTs, indicating the emergence of SST as a research paradigm. As such, dominant themes consistently supported in replicated studies indicate that consumers' technological readiness (Lin & Hsieh, 2006;Massey et al, 2007;Victorino, Karniouchina, & Verma, 2009) and perceptions of SST ease of use (Oh, Jeong, & Baloglu, 2013) affect their willingness to adopt and use SSTs during service exchanges (Lakshmi & Ganesan, 2010;Stockdale, 2007).…”

Experienced international business traveller’s behaviour in Iran: A partial least squares path modelling analysis

“…It is also important because of its influences on travellers’ level of satisfaction (Liu, 2013). Destination image also leads to realistic expectations and in turn satisfying visitors (Lakshmi and Ganesan, 2010). Prior to visiting a destination, destination image is based on visual rather than the actual image (Tasci and Gartner, 2007).…”

“…Different types of IS have been studied in tourism researches such as Internet, travel agencies and friends and relatives, news media and commercial brochures (e.g. Bieger and Laesser, 2000; Dey and Sarma, 2010; Kim and Prideaux, 2005; Lakshmi and Ganesan, 2010; Molina et al., 2010; Özel and Kozak, 2012; Patterson, 2007; Phau et al., 2010; Yilmaz et al., 2009) The availability of tourist ISs has been extended by use of the Internet, which contains several features, for example: travellers use Internet to watch television, radio or read magazines, newspapers as well as sending e-mail. It is also different from other types of sources in terms of accessibility, bilateral communication meaning the communication between the destination and the travellers, real time information as well as convenience in updating (Castañeda et al., 2009; Luo et al., 2005).…”

Religious tourism – a review of the literature

“…Technology plays an increasingly useful part in religious tourism in terms of both supply and demand. Internet deployment (Gupta and Gulla, 2010), using technology to document and map World Heritage Sites, including religious (Vileikis et al , 2012), service technology channels (Lakshmi and Ganesan, 2010) and technology-based‐spiritual shows with multi-media paraphernalia (Rishi et al ., 2010) have been integrated into religious tourism. The juncture where cutting edge technology meets age-old religious practices needs to be explored further to ensure that both enrich each other.…”

“…Religious travel is among the niche markets expanding rapidly (Eraqi, 2006) with many people travelling internationally (Hudson, 2010). From places as diverse as Morocco (Yasin et al , 2011) to Tunisia (Zaiane, 2006) to the Vatican (Kislali et al , 2016) to the Masada National Park (Corte et al , 2009), religious tourism is worldwide (Lakshmi and Ganesan, 2010) and religious places are the focus of many tourists. Of course, there may be instances when people visit religious sites or participate in religious activities without a religious motivation or with multiple motivations.…”